


Don’t ever eat that concoction of noodles

by AsheTarasovich (natalieashe), Boffin1710, natalieashe



Series: Can't Drown My Demons, They Know How To Swim [23]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Advice, First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Male-Female Friendship, Pre-Skyfall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 19:59:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7521115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natalieashe/pseuds/AsheTarasovich, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boffin1710/pseuds/Boffin1710, https://archiveofourown.org/users/natalieashe/pseuds/natalieashe





	Don’t ever eat that concoction of noodles

She had seized at table in the far back corner of the cafeteria out of the main traffic flow.  Dark curly head bent over a notebook with pages covered in neat tight script.  Cup tea in front of her… ignored, growing colder with each passing moment. So much to absorb in what seemed like an extremely small amount of time. Every moment outside of class and training sessions needed prioritized and devoted to studying.

He stood in the doorway of the cafeteria watching her studying her notes from the morn.  They had given the new recruits an hour break for food and downtime before their afternoon sessions began.  He had observed her along with the Major in training, had only briefly met the newbies when recruits were given a tour of Technical Services Section.  But, he had already taken a liking to her… as had others.  She would go far, make a name for herself, that fact was obvious.

Slipping through the back door of the kitchen area, he emerged moments later with a cup of tea and a plate holding a piece of cake balanced precariously on top of it in one hand and another plate of cake in the other and made his way carefully to the back of the room.  “Here,” he offered shoving a piece of cake, that was more icing than cake, towards the woman interrupting her studying.  He carefully sat his cup of earl grey down, cake perched on top, as he sat across from her.  “Too much studying and no occasional distraction will make your brain disintegrate.  Turn to goo.  Run out your ears,” as he started picking at his cake.  “And what makes a better distraction than chocolate cake.” he smiled briefly at her and continued babbling.

“They start their daily baking at 2:00 am.  Usually things are done around 5:00 am.  So if you want warm fresh pastries come down not too long after that.  Make friends with Mrs. Lewis.  I know she will love you.” he continued as if they were long lost friends gesturing with a long thin hand for her to pay attention to the treat he had presented her.  The dark haired woman stared at him as she began to eat the cake in front of her. “Once Mrs. Lewis knows what you have a sweet tooth for, she will start saving things back in the kitchen for you. Consequently, no matter what time of day you appear, there will always be something special hid in the cupboards.”

“The fare is normally edible, but for god’s sake don’t ever eat that concoction of noodles and some various meat product that they have occasionally on Thursdays.  I have no idea what they do to it, but it is certified lethal. Unless you are looking for an excuse to get out of something and spend some time in medical, then it's a good choice,” he added picking up his teacup to take a small sip.  “We’ve decided that someone must be testing chemical warfare toxins in that disaster of a dish.” green eyes gleaming over the rim of his cup.  

She didn’t quite know what to respond to his babbling but it wasn’t as if he was letting her get a word in edgewise into the conversation either.  So she just kept at the cake, which was heavenly, and let him continue to ramble.  Now that he was sitting directly across from her, she could see that he was quite a bit younger than she had originally thought he had been.  When the new recruits had been taken on a tour of TSS last week the young man had been standing behind the Quartermaster handling a mission for an agent out in the field with a calm assuredness as if he had done it for years.  There was definitely something older, extremely focused in this hipster looking young man beyond his physical years.

“Let’s see,” he continued pushing his black framed glasses back up his nose.   “Oh… avoid the Double O’s for awhile until you get your footing.  They are all bat shite crazy and completely unpredictable especially after they have just come back from a mission.”

“As far as Q... The Major…” he smirked at her as he picked at the cake crumbs on his plate. “Just smile at him.  Laugh at his jokes, that make absolutely no sense most of the time. Bring back your equipment in fairly decent order and you will be become one of his favorites.” A devilish smirk curled up on his face, slender fingers snaked through his unruly dark curls. “Think of him as your crazy elderly great uncle or grandfather and never let him know you’ve caught him staring at your arse.”

“Keep on Tanner’s good side.  He is a good mate. Great resource for anything you could want.  Knows the ins and outs of everything political that we deal with. M trusts him impeccably.”

“Just remember also,” his voice dropped so it could only be heard between the two of them.  “M is a ruthless bitch. You might as well learn that now.  Voice of experience. I found out the hard way.  And... M and the Major have known each other for years.  There is a history there."  There was something distracted in his eyes that she caught a glimpse of for just a brief moment when he spoke of M and Q. It was only there for a second and if she hadn't been looking at him directly she would have missed it completely.  

"But I don't think you have anything to worry about," he commented casually now as he finished his cup of tea. "It's fairly obvious that M has her eye on you. Well,  at least it is to me. Put up some impressive scores,  which I have no doubt that you can." he added as he collected their cakes plates and his cup to return to the kitchen. "But I would hazard to say that it merely a formality. Possibly even dare to say that the chain of succession is being put into play as we speak."

He rose gathering their dishes and turned to head towards the kitchen. She had yet to speak a word to him through this entire rendezvous and watched him with extreme curiosity as he started to leave the table.  He stopped as another thought jumped into his head and turned back towards her. "By the by, I'm R. I'm to be your handler," he offered with a slight nod of his head.  "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Moneypenny. I'm sure we'll be seeing quite a lot of each other."

 


End file.
